Consequences of Your Actions
by McGeeklover
Summary: Here is a one-shot for Macberly based on the episode Gentle, Gentle S01E19: Chapter Info: 'I would love to see a story dealing with any possible fall out for Greg from Ecklie when Grissom "cleared" Greg's work space and shoved the evidence out the door' Grissom!Guilt Brotherly!Protective!Nick Depressed!Greg Enjoy! Rated T just to be safe.


**Consequences of Your Actions**

**Hey again everyone! Time to start writing more stories! Sorry that I didn't get to writing Spring or Winter of Hurt Greg, but I promise I will do one soon. So here is a one-shot that was requested by macberly. Enjoy!**

_**Chapter Info: I would ****love to see a story dealing with any possible fall out for Greg from Ecklie when Grissom "cleared" Greg's work space and shoved the evidence out the door**_

It had been a really tough day; the case they had been working was, in general, tough. And then add the way Grissom was acting to it and it was just crazy. Nick wiped a hand down his face, eager to get home and go to sleep for the remainder of the morning before his next shift. Just as he was passing the break-room, he overheard two lab techs saying Greg's name. He wouldn't admit to it, but the kid was like a little brother to him; a crazy, spunky little brother and if people were talking bad about him, he felt- as the older brother- he should do something about it.

"What are you guys talking about? What about Greg?" He questioned, walking up and getting a cup of coffee.

"Greg got fired!" One lab tech, Judy exclaimed.

Nick choked on the liquid in shock. "What!? When? Why?"

"Well, not technically "fired," not yet anyways," Mark, the other tech said. "I heard he was suspended without pay."

"Why?" Nick swallowed. He knew Ecklie had to have something to do with this.

"Remember when Grissom pushed that cart of samples he had?" Judy said and Nick nodded. "Well, apparently a lot of them spilled and became cross contaminated. And some of those were for the FBI. Ecklie must've gotten his ass handed to him and then he took it out on Greg."

"Surely, Greg told him it wasn't his fault?" Nick said, his body filling with rage.

Mark shrugged. "Apparently not, because he was kicked out of here an hour ago. And I gotta say, Ecklie was super pissed. He was shouting at the top of his lungs at Greg, the whole lab could hear him."

"Poor kid," Judy sighed. "I saw the whole thing. He was shaking like a leaf and so pale. Ecklie is a stone-cold bastard."

"I'll say," Nick growled as he stormed out of the room and towards Ecklie's office. He was furious; at the man who yelled at Greg and at Grissom who caused this whole mess in the first place. Greg was just doing his job and now he might not even have one anymore.

"What the hell is your issue?!" He shouted, barging into the room where the man was reading a case file.

Ecklie looked up with a frown. "Excuse me?"

"Why did you fire Greg? It wasn't his fault."

Ecklie sneered. "Did he tell you to say that?"

"Wow, you really are a bastard."

"You better watch what you're saying, Stokes or I could have you gone as quick as your lab friend."

"Does Grissom know about this?"

"He will soon. Now get out of here before you do anymore damage to your own career."

Nick scoffed and rolled his eyes before turning to leave the room. "Unbelievable." He pulled out his phone and dialed Greg's cell. He walked around the building, hoping to find Grissom, but he still must've been out. When Greg didn't answer, he became a little worried and dialed Grissom's number.

Voicemail. Of fucking course. He hung up and went to go have someone track Greg's phone, because frankly he was worried. Greg loved his job; it was his life and now his life was hanging on a balance. He had to find him before he did something stupid. Twenty minutes later, Nick found himself standing outside Jack's Bar where he traced Greg's phone to. He never pegged the kid to be a drinker, but there was a first for everything. He stepped inside, ignoring the girls who tried to talk to him and went straight for the bar, seeing Greg's spiky brownish hair.

"Greg?"

The kid flinched and looked over at Nick with sad brown eyes before taking another sip of beer.

"Hey. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work right now?"

"Yeah...but I heard what happened." Nick sat down and ordered a beer.

"Great, I bet the whole lab knows." Greg ran a hand through his hair, exhaling shakily. "I'm so screwed Nick. I-I tried to explain that Grissom was the one who pushed the cart, but Ecklie wouldn't have it. He bit my friggin' head off and basically fired me."

"Now hold on, you're only suspended. The board will review the case and you'll be fine if you tell them what happened. Keep your hopes up. Fuck Ecklie. I'm sure once Grissom hears what happens he'll go to Ecklie and tell him."

"I don't know Nick," Greg choked, an emotional lump growing in his throat. "This job...it's the only thing I really have...the only thing I know. I mean, I have my mom but she moved to New York when I graduated from college and that's only because I convinced her I would be fine on my own. Now...it's gonna be hard to keep my head afloat." Tears welled up in Greg eyes and Nick felt really bad. He clasped a hand on the kid's shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

"I'm already sinking, Nick," Greg sniffed, the tears dripping down his face. "I don't know what to do."

"You're not gonna sink, Greggo." _Where the hell did that name come from?_ "I'm not gonna let you. We're gonna fix this, okay?"

"I wanna believe you, I really do, but-"

"No, buts. Trust me."

Greg wiped his eyes and looked up at the Texan with a weak smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, bud. Now, let me buy you another round."

"You don't have to, I'm fine."

"I know, but I want to. Let's just take your mind off things for awhile."

Greg snorted, finishing off his first beer. "You mean get drunk?"

Nick shrugged with a smirk. "I guess that's another way of putting it. Barkeep! Two more please!"

An hour and a half later the two boys stumbled out of the bar, laughing hysterically. Greg was more hammered than Nick was so he decided to let the older man drive and just leave his car there for now.

"You are so drunk, Greggo...you only had three beers! You're such a lightweight!"

"S'not true," Greg slurred, leaning against Nick's Denali as he waited for him to unlock it.

"Yeah?" Nick said as he opened the car door and they both got inside. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He put up three fingers and he watched in amusement as Greg squinted and widened his eyes multiple times before guessing.

"Six?"

"G, I only have five fingers on one hand," he chuckled before starting the car. "You are definitely wasted."

"Whatever," Greg mumbled, resting his head on the cool window.

Nick turned the heat on and drove away from the curve, deciding to bring Greg to his place, because he didn't want the kid to be alone right now. The things that Greg told him- sober and drunk- worried him.

"Hey, Nick?" Greg whispered closing his eyes and starting to drift off.

"Yeah, bud?"

"Thanks...y-you're a good...you're a good friend. Never had...a big brother before." With that, he fell asleep, lightly snoring while Nick just smiled in appreciation before continuing to drive down the road. He was determined to get Greg's job back no matter what. And if he had to do it by himself, then so be it.

Fifteen minutes later, Nick stumbled into his apartment, practically holding a barely conscious Greg.

"Jesus, you may look skinny, but you're dead weight."

Greg just grunted as he was lead into the guest room and thrown gently onto the bed.

"You better not tell anyone about this," Nick mumbled as he removed Greg's shoes and shirt. "Can you take off your pants or do I need to?" the Texan chuckled.

"I'll do it...gotta have...a l-little dignity...left."

Nick rolled his eyes as Greg fumbled with his pants and after a few seconds, Greg was in his boxers and underneath the covers, already passed out. Nick quietly left the room, leaving the door open a crack before heading to his own room to crash for the remainder of the day before his shift in seven hours.

~+CSI+~

Grissom walked into the lab, exhausted. He didn't end up coming back here the other night because he had to go to court right after for two other different cases and it brought him right back to the start of another long shift. He grabbed some samples off his desk that needed to be done and headed for Greg's lab...only the kid was nowhere to be seen. He glanced at his watch; surely he would be here by now. Unless he had been working non-stop all during the day shift. He remembered the tech saying that he had been swamped right before he pushed the cart of test tubes out into the hallway. Maybe he was just taking a coffee break. But when he entered the break room, he wasn't there; it was just Nick.

"Nick, do you know where Greg is? I have some things I want him to run."

The Texan looked up with a scoff, anger in his eyes. "You don't know do you?"

Grissom quirked an eyebrow. "Know what?"

"He's been suspended without pay and he could be fired for something that you did!" Nick shouted, jumping out of his chair.

"What did I do?"

"Seriously? Are you that oblivious to the things around you?" When Grissom didn't respond, Nick just shook his head. "Do you recall pushing the cart of test tubes out of Greg's lab because of your feelings towards the baby case?"

A look of realization flashed across the older man's face.

"Yeah, I thought so. Well, some of them were for the FBI and Ecklie got pissed. I think you can figure out the rest. This is the only job Greg loves and had and now you probably got him fired. I hope you're happy." With that, Nick pushed past the supervisor and disappeared around the corner.

Grissom's heart beat hard against his chest. _Greg had gotten fired because of what he did? He didn't even know. _But he knew the one man who would be responsible. He stalked down to Ecklie's office, angry at the man for doing this without notifying him or even discussing it with him! He was also pissed at himself for letting yesterday's case get personal. So all in all, Greg possibly losing his job was his fault.

"Conrad, what is the meaning of this? Firing Greg Sanders without my knowledge?"

The man looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know I needed to consult an inferior about who I fire or hire."

"Yes, you do. I may be under you, but Greg is still part of my team and you don't just go firing somebody without knowing the whole story, which I bet you didn't let Greg explain." _If __the kid__ didn't take the blame. But knowing __him,__ he probably did._

"And what "whole story" is that?" The balding man leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on his stomach.

"It was my fault; I pushed the cart that had the tubes of samples and cross contaminated them. It wasn't Greg's fault, I was angry at him for taking too long with the things that I needed, I was stressed about the case where a _murdered_ baby was involved and I just wasn't thinking. I wanted Greg to forget about the things he had on he cart so I shoved it out the door. I didn't even think about the consequences. So, if you want to fire anyone, it should be me. Not Greg; you know as well as anybody else that he's the best tech in this entire lab. No one finishes things as fast as he does."

Ecklie thought about it for a moment before sitting forward and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Gil, but Sanders is still responsible for them no matter what. The decision is made and at the end of this week, the board will decide if Greg will resume his duties or not." He turned away and Grissom shook his head in anger before leaving the office, going to find Nick and ask him where Greg was. He had to apologize; he had to make this right.

When he got to Nick's apartment, he used the key that the Texan let him borrow and stepped into the hallway. He noticed, through the shelf, that the TV was on and when he went around the corner, he could see that Greg was in sweats, his face drawn and normally bright brown eyes dull with depression. It didn't even look like he was watching what was on, lying on his back, arms wrapped around his stomach and staring at the wall.

"Greg?"

He saw the kid visibly flinch before blinking and looking up briefly before turning away. "What are you doing here?" He said coldly.

Grissom was a little surprised. Greg Sanders was not one to get angry, let alone hold a grudge, but he guessed he had all the right reasons to be pissed.

"I came here to apologize," Grissom said, stepping further into the room.

Greg sighed as he muted the television and sat up, allowing Grissom to take a seat. "I'm listening."

Grissom sat down and looked at the younger man. "This never should've happened; none of this would've happened had I not been so obsessed with that case." When Greg didn't respond, the older man continued. "I'm gonna get your job back, Greg...even if it will cost me mine."

Greg scoffed, but smiled weakly, rubbing a tired hand over his face. "Thanks for that...but I doubt even _you_ can do anything about it. Ecklie was pretty set about firing me and there's rarely ever changing that guy's mind. Besides, he hates me...for some weird reason."

Grissom smirked. "Don't worry; it's one of those times were I'm gonna have to go over his head."

Greg raised a brow in curiosity.

"I pull some weight with the board and the Director owes me a favor. I'll get you your job back, I promise."

"Thanks Grissom," Greg grinned. "This is the best job that I've had and losing it...it'll be hard to get over. The team is like my family...even though I'm apparently the "runt of the litter."

Grissom chuckled, slapping Greg on the shoulder before standing up. "I'll let you know what happens, okay? Keep you hopes up."

Greg nodded and watched as Grissom left before letting out a deep breath and sagging into the couch pillows in exhaustion. He prayed that Grissom could actually succeed int getting his job back, because he didn't know what else he would do, where else he would go. The crime lab was his second home, everyone there was a second family. The job that he does now is the only thing he knows how to do. He wanted to move up the chain; he had been, for awhile now, thinking about becoming a CSI. Sure he loved the lab, but he didn't want to be confined to it for his entire life. He wanted to go out into the field, investigate, take pictures, see the blood before it was on a swab...but that would never happen if he got fired. Greg yawned feeling worn out. While Nick was at work, he was up most of the night, trying not to panic. Breathing calmly through his nose, he laid back down on the couch and closed his eyes, in minutes, drifting off into a more peaceful sleep.

About three hours later, Nick entered his apartment. It was quiet except for the faint sounds from the television. He put his stuff down and turned into the living room. What he saw made him chuckle. Greg was sprawled out on the couch, passed out with one hand hanging off the side and the other resting on top of his chest. Nick rolled his eyes as he grabbed a blanket from a nearby chair and draped it over the slumbering kid. He had let him stay for a few days until everything was figured out. Greg didn't need to be by himself through all this. And also because he had been drunk and was gonna wake up with a massive headache. Note to self: only let Greg have one beer. After making sure the tech was comfortable, he made his way towards the bathroom to take a shower. He hoped that whatever Gris and the kid talked about made Greg feel better. The older man better get Greg's job back or else there was gonna be hell.

Meanwhile, Grissom sat in his office and called Director Cavallo; he he had been planning to use his favor for something else, but Greg's job was more important. He made a mistake so he had to make it right. Not even five minutes later, Grissom smiled and hung up the phone and then not far down the hall, Ecklie's phone rang. Mission accomplished.

"Ecklie," Conrad said tiredly, but when he heard who it was he sat up straight, more alert. "Director Cavallo, what can I do for you, sir? Uh, yes sir, I did fire Greg Sanders, but it was for a very good rea...n-no. No, sir, I didn't ask him. I-I...yes sir...of c-course sir. Oka-" the Director hung up and Ecklie was left shaken and speechless. He couldn't believe he just got yelled at...by the Director. Swallowing thickly, he dialed another number. He didn't need to get in anymore trouble, because he didn't want to be the one who was fired next.

~+CSI+~

Greg jerked awake when he heard his cellphone chime and vibrate on the table. He frowned when he saw a blanket over him, not remembering covering up with one and then he heard the shower and realized Nick must've returned. Rubbing his face, he picked up his phone and answered.

"Hello?"

_"Uh, Sanders, this is Ecklie. __The board reviewed the case and they decided to vote in your favor. You can come back to work."_

Greg's heart nearly stopped. Grissom had done it; he had got his job back within hours of promising it. "Really?"

"_Yeah. __But__ne__xt time you might not be so lucky._" And with that, he hung up the phone.

Greg rolled his eyes, but smiled broadly. He got his job back! Throwing the covers off of him, he went to the guest room and grabbed his clothes from the other night. When he briefly turned around he saw Nick looking at him quizzically. He had just gotten out of the shower and changed when he heard Greg talking on the phone and walking around.

"Hey bud, where are you going in such a hurry? You wanna grab some breakfast or something?"

Greg turned and Nick saw the huge grin on the kid's face.

"What's up?"

"Ecklie called...I got my job back."

"Really, that's great! When are you going back?"

"Right now. I'm so behind and I'm sure the temp they used did not know what they were doing." He started heading for the door, eager to get home, change and then get to work.

Nick rolled his eyes. Same old Greg. "Well, you can't go anywhere yet."

"Why not?" He turned back to look at the Texan. "You don't want me to leave?" He smirked.

Nick scoffed as he grabbed his keys from the table. "No genius, I drove here, remember? Your car is still at the bar."

"Oh...right."

"Come on, I'll bring you there."

Greg worked all day and all night non-stop, hating that he was so behind. And he was right; the tech they had temporarily was a mess and had taken forever to do things. Everyone was glad that Greg hadn't been fired, not only because he was the best lab tech they had, but because he was the crazy lab tech that always lit up everybody's day no matter how they were feeling. It just wouldn't be the same without him.

"G, come on we're going out for drinks," Nick said, standing in the doorway, watching Greg keep himself busy. It was the end of the night shift and they were all gonna celebrate Greg coming back...if one of them managed to pull him away from his work, that is.

"I just have to finish this."

"Greg, you've been at it all day with nothing more than going to the bathroom."

The tech chuckled, not even removing his eye from the microscope. "You've been keeping track of when I've been going to the bathroom?"

"Greggo, come on, you must be spent by now. Gris is buying...plus he has something to say to you."

Greg looked up and pursed his lips, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Okay...I guess I'm a little worn out." He put his work away before hanging up his lab coat.

"Attaboy," Nick grinned, slapping the kid on the back.

"Just so you know, I'm only doing this, because I know you'd never stop nagging me," Greg smiled.

"Hey, I don't nag," Nick defended.

"Yeah, sure you don't."

When they got to the bar, Catherine, Sara, Warrick and Grissom were already there in a booth. They exchanged hugs, congratulating him on getting his job back. When they heard what happened, they were absolutely pissed, mostly at Grissom. But it was all over now. Things were finally back to normal.

Once everyone got their drinks, Greg just getting a club soda because he said he drank too much the other day, Grissom cleared his throat and tapped on the glass.

"Alright, I'd like to make a toast. To the team and to Greg."

Greg raised his eyebrow, a blush creeping on his cheeks.

"You've all worked very hard this past year and especially on this last case. I know that I said never let the case become personal," he glanced at Sara. "But after we found Zack...anyways I just want to apologize to all of you for the way I acted and if I came on too strong. Especially to you Greg. I'm sorry how hard I was on you and that I nearly cost you your job. You didn't deserve it. None of you did. And for the consequences of my actions, I'll be suspended without pay for two weeks."

The team looked shocked and really didn't know what to say.

"Y-You did that for me?" Greg asked. He couldn't believe it.

Grissom just smiled. "To Greg; we're glad to have you back."

"To Greg!" The rest of the team shouted before taking a sip of their drinks. Nick wrapped an arm around Greg's shoulder, bringing him in for a one armed hug and digging his fist in the younger man's head, messing up his hair.

"Hey!" Greg pulled away and tried to fix it, despite of everyone laughing.

"Same old Greg," Warrick smirked, high-fiving Nick above the kid's head.

Sara turned to Grissom and smiled, nudging his shoulder. "You really did all that for him?"

"Why not? He's part of the family." They watched as the three boys messed around, more so Nick and Warrick messing with Greg while Catherine was the mother and tried to stop them. "And even if he wasn't, it was still my fault. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

Sara nodded. "You're a good guy, Gil." They grinned at each other before secretly holding hands underneath the table while watching the team continue to joke with each other.

Greg was there to stay.

**FIN!**

** Hope you liked it! REVIEWS! Stay tuned for more stories! Probably going to do a multi-chapter :)**


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